Giada Negri
About Giada
Giada is a young Italian activist who joined the ECF team in 2017 as a trainee.
Since then, she has led the work on civic space to create spaces for dialogue and opportunities for influence between civil society, institutions and academics, to empower activists across Europe and leverage European pressure on illiberal moves by national authorities.
She also brings her interests and knowledge to work on issues of sustainability, resilience of civil society and culture of care.
João Labrincha
About João
João is a human rights and queer-feminist activist who founded Portugal’s “Protesto da Geração à Rasca,” which brought half a million people to the streets against precarious work, and is a founding board member of the Academia Cidadã | Citizenship Academy. He studied International Relations at the University of Coimbra and worked with Amnesty International, GEOTA (environmental NGO), and GAT (supporting LGBT+ people, migrants, drug users, and homeless communities). At ECF, João serves as Acting Co-Secretary-General, overseeing finances, HR, administration, operations, projects, communications and network development. He acts as the main contact for members, ensures legal and statutory compliance, and co-leads on organisational strategy and donor relations.
Aarti Narsee
About Aarti
Aarti holds a Master’s in Gender, Policy and Inequalities from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). In her previous role as a civic space research officer at CIVICUS, she monitored civic space in Europe and Central Asia. Through her intersectional feminist approach, she provides commentary on the intersections between gender rights and civic space. As a former journalist and avid storyteller, Aarti has written extensively about gender, LGBTQI+ and human rights.
Benjamin Goodwin
About Benjamin
Benjamin’s background is in communication, journalism, and political science. He has a BA in Politics & East European Studies from University College London and an MSc in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels. Benjamin joined ECF in September 2022 and works across all our communications – from social media to publications to our Civic Spaces podcast. He has an interest in environmentalism and human rights.
Kerttu Willamo
About Kerttu
Kerttu’s background is in human rights advocacy and social movements. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a Master’s in Gender and Minority Studies from the University of Helsinki. Kerttu is coordinating ECF’s projects on civic space monitoring and the protection of civic actors and human rights defenders. She also works on advocacy and capacity building, focusing on digital rights and the intersection between civic space and technology. She has been active in human rights and environmental movements in Finland and continues calling for systems change, equal rights and climate justice in the vibrant activist communities in Brussels.
Domiziana Palumbo
About Domiziana
Domiziana is a junior international human rights lawyer, with an LLB in European Law and an LLM in International Law from Maastricht University. At the ECF, she monitors and reports on civic space as part of the policy and advocacy team. With a background in research and field work, she is passionate about the rights of vulnerable groups in humanitarian settings. She cultivates reading and writing as creative nourishment for her professional endeavours.